Hi. We are a design/style LA based company specializing in mixing eclectic styles on moderate budgets. Also we have a strange amount of fun blogging about all our design and style adventures. Right now I’m happy to say that I’m Target’s home spokesperson, bringing accessible/stylish design to the masses.

We Are Officially Insane People ...

Our New Home!

What you think is happening is happening. We bought a new house. And I’ve been dying to tell you. I always feel like I’m cheating on you when I don’t tell you, in real time, when huge things are happening, but when you are in escrow to get a house you REALLY, REALLY want, you get so nervous that something can ruin it. So you sit there for a month, crossing your fingers, closing your eyes, praying that just because you can’t find a w-2 from 2012 that things won’t fall through. But we got the keys on Monday, its officially ours, and we have to be done renovating by December 15th.

You have so many questions I know. I’m here to answer all of them.

It’s a 1926 English Tudor in Los Feliz. It has 4 bedrooms and 2 (kinda) bathrooms. It’s so charming and wonderful. I must tell you the story. It’s kinda like The Notebook, but for real estate.

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I woke up on a sunday morning and got an alert from all my real estate apps that there was a new house listed in our range in one of our neighborhoods. I looked at it and immediately, IMMEDIATELY, told Brian it was OUR house. I text my best friend the listing and she called me immediately and said “SHUT YOUR MOUTH, I was thinking about that house this morning, my ex-boyfriend almost bought it 10 years ago for us. I was laying in bed thinking Why can’t Brian and Emily just find a cute old pretty house like that one.”

Crazy. And then we realized that our agent worked at the same company as the selling agent (Nourmand and Associates). It seemed meant to be.

So we went to look at it later that day. It was a hectic open house because good family homes in Los Feliz don’t come up very often and when they do they get swooped up by all cash offers. We loved, loved, loved it. We immediately asked the agent if we could do pre-inspections the next day (so we could take off the inspection contigency) as we knew it was going to be competitive. They said yes which basically means that if we didn’t get the house or if we didn’t want to put in an offer after all, that we would have lost the cost of the inspections ($1200). We took off the appraisal contingency, too, meaning that we felt confidant that it would appraise for the price we were offering (we did). We knew we were going to compete with all cash so we were trying to look as enticing as possible. We promised them the easiest escrow of their lives (which we wrote in a letter and maybe I gave them my book …) and we told them that we wouldn’t ask for credits despite it inspecting good, but not amazing (listen … it’s 100 years old).

That Friday, despite the cash offer, they accepted our offer and we were in escrow. Thank you so much, former owners of our dream house, for taking our loan offer over an all-cash. I know all-cash can be enticing so thank you for having the faith that we could pull it off.

Now we have a new house.

You have so many questions. Lets get into them

Didn’t you just buy a house? Did you always intend to flip it?

It’s been 2 1/2 years, 3 by the time we move out, since we bought our house and yes we always knew that we weren’t going to stay long term because of the lack of yard. We absolutely did not flip our house. And I’m not saying that in a defensive way, more that I love this house and I don’t want to disgrace it with that word. We thoughtfully designed, renovated, loved, updated with quality finishes and materials, and lived in (and have now outgrown) our home. We are selling it, but no, this a not a flip and there is nothing cheap about this house, its finishes or my love for it. She is a pretty lady, not a flip.

Had we been looking for a while?

We had been looking for 3-4 months but not too seriously – maybe since March. If/when a house popped up that checked a few of our boxes we would go look at it.

What were our boxes?

We had 7 ‘musts’ and we really wanted a house to check off at least 5 of them.

1. We were desperate for a backyard. We both grew up with tree/grass backyards and while you certainly don’t have to have one in order to have a good childhood, Brian and I both want our kids to be able to explore nature and feel independent in a safe space without us (read: if they are in a safe backyard we can relax a bit). The backyard is for them to play, but more for easing our lives and having our weekends be so much more relaxed. It hasn’t helped that our local park has been under construction the last 6 months. So we have to drive 15 – 20 minutes to a park every weekend, and through juggling 4 naps between both of them, potty training, etc it’s just made us even more exhausted. We have dreams of being able to just open the doors from the family room to the backyard and our kids having freedom to play with us, without us or with each other without having to carry them down 26 stairs and load them into a car every single time they needed to get out energy – which for a 2/12 year old boy is a lot.

2. We wanted an old house with lost of projects (no recent flips) but with good bones and lots of character. I didn’t want anything generic, instead something that had potential to be stunning but would give me the projects (content) to do myself.

3. We wanted to be able to walk to cafes/parks/activiites. Friends of ours that live in our new neighborhood say they go weekends without getting in their cars. We didn’t think we were going to be able to afford Los Feliz. It’s historically insanely expensive and we were looking really hard in Eagle Rock, thinking that Los Feliz wasn’t an option. But almost all of our best friends live here so I was so excited at the prospect that our kids can go to the same school. (By the way if you are wondering how we got this house, it’s because it needed so much work but was already expensive so no flippers/investors wanted it but very few families wanted to deal with updating it – so we were in the unique position of being willing to pay a little more knowing that it’s my job to fix it up).

4. We needed at least 1800 square feet or 3 bedrooms. Our current house is 1900 + the studio downstairs (it feels sooo much bigger than 1900). We were fine with that size, although bigger certainly would be better (more stuff! more content!). The new house is 2200 square feet although it strangely feels smaller, probably because its so much less open.

5. Good indoor/outdoor flow is a must. It’s Southern California for gods sake … see #1. Just having a backyard wasn’t our only dream, we wanted easy access to it so that we didn’t have to choose when to go outside, that it would always be an option for the kids with or without us. There are onlya couple months here where we would need the doors shut (summer) so I had a dream of every morning just opening the doors and saying in my most Julie Andrews-a-la-sound-of-music-way ‘Go forth children, and play safely while I drink my coffee, snap and read huff po’.

6. I need good light or the ability to have good light. A dark house I can not have both for work and for my sanity. We are willing to put in windows, but some houses still don’t have good light even with lots of windows.

7. We really wanted to be in a good public school district. This could have been Eagle Rock. South Pasadena, Los Feliz or Silverlake but we really want to send our kids to public school as long as we can (in case you are interested in what that means, the Jr. High and High are good but a bit overcrowded so while I do want to make it a goal to help solve that problem and be a part of the change, I also can’t for sure promise myself or the world that we won’t make a different decision for my family in 10 years…)

That’s about it. I know that sounds like a lot of demands but it really wasn’t. Personally I wanted a really different style house than we had but was certainly open to midcentury if it checked off all of those boxes (I’m so excited that its a tudor). We mostly just wanted a happy house that could suit our insanely busy family. A house that with a yard and less stairs could make life less stressful, right???

What will we do with our current house?

Sell it. I want to renovate the new one before we move in because living in a construction zone with two tiny kids is a terrible idea, and our mortgage is way lower than renting would be. We’ll put it on the market in Mid-October, because we want to move in early December.

Are you selling all your furniture and starting over?

Kinda.

I really want to be a normal, not-insane person, I DO. Of course I’ll keep most of my art, most of my books and favorite things and some pieces of furniture, but yes, I will probably over the course of the next year, as I go towards the more classic style, sell some pieces and start fresh. There are some that we physically can’t move into the house – the sectional (there is no family room), our living room sofa (since we’ll only have one living/family room it needs to be more comfortable than that and more traditional in style), our dining table (wrong shape and we may not even have a dining room here) and a handful of other pieces. I’ll keep my leather chairs, the wood dresser, my nightstands, and most of charlie and Elliot’s furniture … actually wait, not charlie’s dresser or shelving … and he probably won’t sleep in a crib for much longer … — but I’ll be tweaking the design to be more traditional/classic over time. I’m dying to see if our bed can fit in our new bedroom because it is huge but I love it so much (reveal of our bedroom next week). The string art, for instance might not have a place (maybe Elliot’s room???) but the blimp and all my paintings will hopefully make it in (strangely little wall space and very little storage or shelving).

The point is – I’m bringing the pieces that I think can transition easily into a classic/modern/family/young/tudor style but not the pieces that can’t as easily or just don’t fit physically (like my sectional).

What are you renovating before you move in?

Watch the FBlive today at 2pm to find out but as you can imagine we want to do as much as we can afford now, so that we can avoid prolonging the process and living in a construction zone – but the short answer is refinishing/replacing the floor, renovating the kitchen (how? it’s so tiny? make bigger? get rid of dining room?)

Will you flip this one or stay in it for a long time?

We aren’t the kind of people that really make long term decisions but glue-gun to my head I’d say we’d stay here til the kids are 8 and 10 and then probably upgrade to a house where we all don’t have to share 1 bathroom.

Oh right. What are the drawbacks?

No house is perfect. One of the things we didn’t prioritize and decided to sacrifice was a ‘master bedroom suite’ or hell, even a dedicated ‘kids bathroom’. So yes, all four of us will be sharing a single bathroom upstairs. There is a powder room downstairs and a previous owner put in a shower mostly to probably be able to call it a “4 bedroom, 2 bath”, but it’s small and need some help. The bathroom situation isn’t awesome.

The other drawback – serious lack of closet space and storage. This one was harder to deal with as I like my stuff. I’m not a total clothes horse, but I’m a girl that likes fashion as much as other women. I’ve already gotten rid of almost 1/2 of my clothes (stay tuned to hear about what I did with them) and we are looking into where we can possibly add a walk-in closet but it’s not going to be big if at all. These old houses have teeny tiny closets, like 18” deep and only two of them that are 20” wide. It’s not going to work with modern life and how people live these days but there is definitely not an obvious place to put in a closet OR a bathroom, for that matter.

The other drawbacks to normal people would be that it needs a lot of work – there are only 2 outlets in each bedroom, the electrical needs to be updated, all the floors need to be refinished and potentially replaced, all the windows need to be stripped and painted, the kitchen needs to be gutted, the bathrooms need total renovation and the backyard/courtyard needs landscaping. There are some other boring things like we have to remediate a small wall downstairs that had mold due to drainage issues and then of course fix those drainage issues. And tent for termites. And fix the chimney …

It’s a Betty White – she ain’t young, but she’s awesome, beautiful, so full of youth and life. It just needs someone to bring it out and I am happily that person.

I know that I’m lucky that my job is to create content for you by designing my own house. I honestly don’t know how any of you accomplish any home projects. It’s so hard to pull together a house and took me 2 1/2 years with our last one and i’m a designer!!!

Oh. Are we sad to leave our old house? YES. Well, I was. When Brian first said that we should start looking for a yard I was almost a tiny bit heartbroken (even though I historically have always been the one to find the next project). I have worked so hard to make this house what it is, and I’m finally, FINALLY proud of it. We just finished the exterior!! Charlie and Elliot have only taken 4 baths in their new bathroom!!! But slowly I got excited and knew that we wouldn’t find a house that soon and that even if we found one we would probably have to renovate first. I even wrote this post, about how we were going to finish everything so that we didn’t have to do everythingthe second that we move for the new owners and instead to it for us now. Thank god I did that.

But this house, our old one in Glendale, is so full of happiness and love and such good memories. Every now and again I get grumpy about certain things but whenever we come home from a “Vacation” I would walk in and sigh with a oh thank god we are home, followed up with a I love this house so much. By the way I hereby announce that “vacation” will be in quotes until we are able to relax on one.

I’m so excited. i’ve been pinning and staring at photos all day every day. I’m excited for the design, the house but mostly the family life that its promising.

I love that all our bedrooms are upstairs together – it feels safe. I love that there is a playroom off the kitchen. I love that you can see the whole backyard from the living room, dining room and potentially even the kitchen. I love that there is a courtyard right off the dining room (which might just be turned into a large eat-in kitchen) for family dinners. I love that every room has great light. I love that the yard has huge mature trees to provide shade. I love that there is a guest suite in the basement that I can design for family to stay comfortably. I love that we can walk to both Los Feliz and Silverlake restaurants. And it’s a relatively flat walk whereas our house now is down a steep hill and back up. I love that it’s an English Tudor and that I get to experiment in a style that I never have before, and learn so much about it and about myself as a designer along the way.

You guys have told me (both in stats and in writing) over and over again that what you love are makeovers, specifically in my own house. I know i’m lucky. I won’t let you down. I’ll be transparent, give you lots of process, numbers and fully document my failures as well as successes. Brian’s video production company is busy and booked, but you know that we’ll be documenting everything.

So yes. It’s happening. The next chapter. A more english, classic chapter. Like Dickens meets Nora Ephron. One filled with a little more visual drama, but less family drama. More antiques, less midcentury. More classic, less trendy. But most importantly, more, more, more content for you and fun/love for me and my family.

I’ll break it down room by room with the rough plan, but if you want to see the full tour with my off-the-cuff thoughts and feelings watch our FBlive today at 2pm (it stays up forever, but when it’s live you can ask questions and we can answer – be sure to like my page).

It’s going to be amazing once its done. Hopefully we can get in by Christmas and host the holiday party of our dreams.

Thoughts? Feelings? Questions? Do you think we are insane people??? Can you believe that we have barely finished our house and are moving into an insane project house??????? testtest

I am excited that you will deal with small closets and maybe share some ways to tackle them. That’s all I have and they are bursting and in need of creative remodeling. But I don’t know what to do. I will miss your house which I think is beautiful, but on to the next chapter. Good luck!

Will live vicariously through you! Want to move very badly, but now is not the time…so I’ll enjoy your updates! This house is a beauty! The potential gives me goosebumps! And…What are your fave real estate apps? (Just cause we can’t move doesn’t mean I don’t obsessively check!). Are those kitchen cabinets not at a right angle or is that my imagination?

As a fellow designer, I am looking for my first home and I have to say I’m feeling all your feelings with you (though less of the sadness of leaving, I’m so over my apartment!). I’m getting swallowed in the “potential” of every house I look at and immediately start designing the spaces in my head. I can’t wait to see what you do with a traditional home style. Best of luck on the new adventure!

Congrats! My husband and I grew out of our first house within two years and we don’t even have kids! Moving to the new right thing for your family definitely doesn’t make the old house a flip. Congrats on the new yard and new design chapter!

Congrats! My family just closed escrow on our new (dream) house, and our story is similar to yours – I wanted a mid-century/custom/vintage house with good bones (no one else’s flip), something that needed work but not a tear-down, big yard with a pool, and high beam/open ceilings (our house has TWO rooms with this feature, double-score!), and a big lot in a more rural setting (we live in San Diego).

We had been looking online (only, hubby wasn’t ready to start house hunting…b/c he knew once he gave me green light I’d be Game-ON/10000 MPH even though I told him I want a specific house, and they only come along every few months, and we had better be ready to be hunting for at least a year). Sure enough, the day after I got the green light to house-hunt, I met my agent at a house I had been eyeing online – fell in love, called/dragged my husband over pronto (who exclaimed after walking through “Yeah, this is NOT it”), I continued to verbally share my vision with him (the house was priced to leave us money on the table for decent renovations), we each went back to work, and by the time we reconnected at dinnertime he was ready to move forward. I did my due-diligence and spent a day looking at 10 other house in 10 different areas with my agent, and nothing came even close to our house.

I have never done a real renovation (like, with a contractor!) but am confident we’ll make it though. I have at least five EH postings book-marked for reference/ideas/sources! We just closed last Friday, and the adventure has begun.

Congrats! I can’t wait to see what you do with the place. I’bve been slowly chipping (and rechipping) away at my house for years, but can’t afford to go fast or do tons so I love watching you renovate your space. I’m so excited; sort of like Jessie Spano, but without the pills.

wow wow wow! i am so excited for you! I know that some designers have bought homes to ensure that they can have content for the blog. i know for you it’s a happy medium where you legitimately wanted to move to a neighborhood that was right for you and the kids, and it just so happens, it’s gonna give you all sorts of content. I’m excited to see how you grow and evolve with this style of house!

Oh, what a beautiful house! Those windows are wonderful! As far as the small closets/lack of storage are concerned, it’s actually a blessing in disguise: this way you will tend to edit your stuff more often, keep less stuff and be more mindful of what comes into the house. We live in an older home with teeny tiny closets (and bathrooms, too) and have found that it has helped enormously in avoiding that trap that you can easily fall into – having tons of stuff that has to be dealt with. Congratulations!

Wow! this is so exciting for you all! I’m really looking forward to future posts! We currently live in a home that needs help in every way 🙁 It drives me a bit crazy trying to list the work that needs to be done. Can you please share your thoughts on how you will organize the priority list of things to do and the rationale? By the way, I wish we lived in a market where houses are just scooped up so quickly. That must be awesome!

I’m a quiet reader, this being my first comment. But this post just makes me SO happy! I can truely sense your excitement over this house, and I agree, that this home was meant for your family! I’m so excited to follow your journey as you put your personal stamp on it! Congrats!

I love the house and can’t wait to see you tackle a new house in a different style! Will we get to see the full exterior of the old house when you put it on the market or have moved out? I’ve understood the need for privacy thus far, but I’ve always been so curious as to what your house looks like from the street, especially when you make reference to the exterior being finished.

YES. I actually wrote a whole post about the process and its REALLY GOOD. It took me like 15 hours to write ( all the photo prep time, etc) and I chickened out from posting it. As sooon as we put our house on the market and we move out then i’m posting it. I let a sneak peek of our new house up but I think that will be it. Not that if you were crazy you couldn’t find it ….

I’m a long time reader but this may just be my first comment because I’m just SO EXCITED to see this house come together! [It helps that I also just bought a home and have a little one on the way so I’m thinking you’ll have some great ideas I can use since my style is more classic than trendy 😉 ] Congratulations!

Congrats on the new house! We live in an older home with tiny closets and one bathroom. With a 15 year old, a 9 year old and 7 year old, sharing a bathroom can be challenging, especially when we host-but we LOVE our house, so one bathroom doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

So exciting!! Congratulations! And no you’re not insane – it looks like a stunningly beautiful and happy house, and why not want that for your family!? I’m excited in particular at the style of house and therefor the renos to come. My own house is more farmhouse/traditional and while I’ve grown to LOVE the mid-century style, it doesn’t quite fit in our space..so i’m looking forward to seeing what you do in the new house and what might be more applicable to my space – thank you in advance :)! Enjoy all the pinning and planning to come!

CONGRATULATIONS! I’m so happy for you all! The house is gorgeous, and yes, such good LIGHT!
Can’t wait to follow along on your journey. I personally like more ‘classic’ décor so it will be fun to watch your interpretations of that.

I am so, so excited to see you do more traditional spaces! As I get older I’ve realized traditional is what I really love/what feels the most homey to me. But I have a hard time in traditional spaces drawing the line between lived-in/comfortable and cluttered/over-stuffed. Can’t wait to see what you do!

Best. News. Ever…unless of course the commute is too far for Nanny Sylvia to drive, and she’s looking for a new family to work for…that would be the best news ever! We’d snatch her up in a minute!! Congrats on that new, gorgeous house!!!

Just seeing the title and not reading the post, I was sad! Now i’m super pumped to follow along on your new adventure! Would be interesting to know how you manage renovations/regular jobs/family life. Excited for your family! Thanks for being a graceful inspiration!

Emily, I’m so excited for you and your family! What a blessing. Also, I’m excited for me! We bought a nearly 100 year old home about a year ago and I have often wished I could find more ideas for how to keep every moment of it’s grace and charm but also give it the warmth and good cheer of a lived in family home. I can’t wait to see your process and ideas. Most of all, congrats to your family!

Congratulations! It will be so wonderful for the kids to have their outdoor space to grow in. I’m so excited to see a different style that’s more fitting of a lot of east coast homes (including my own) 🙂

What a beautiful new home – congratulations on your purchase. I am sure you will do amazing things and I look forward to following progress. As you say, lots of lovely new content for our viewing pleasure. Thank you!

Living in the UK where we have abundant original Tudor, I am curious to see what this Californian interpretation will end up looking like. (In the 1920s/30s the UK went through a phase of building “Mock Tudor” housing – but these buildings look very different to your new abode.)

I love the roof line and the way the tiles are laid. I’m curious as to how much of the original building / interior you will keep (character) vs. ripping out the old and replacing with the new. The kitchen and bathrooms certainly need updating but wouldn’t look out of place in many British homes! We are not ones for hiding our plumbing behind plastered walls. When I was at school we still had toilets where we pulled a chain to flush!

yes! I was confused at first, seeing a 100yr old house in California being described as “English Tudor” when I am used to that meaning homes built in 16th century Britain. I am not familiar with this reproduction style at all, it even seems to have some spanish elements maybe? The curved cement work in the bathroom? So excited to see what you do with it- it’s going to be just amazing!

I’M SO EXCITED!
You do such beautiful work anyway, and I love your current house, but mid-century isn’t something that works at all in my (east coast colonial) home. So I can’t wait to see your twist on more traditional and I can hopefully get all kinds of ideas and inspiration!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! How 100% exciting first for you and your family, and second for all of us who come here everyday to see what beautiful/creative/smart things the EHD team has come up with. Lucky us! I’d say lucky you, but it’s obvious that you have worked very hard to create your own “luck”, so instead I say keep on kickin’ ass and taking names!

Hooray!!!! So excited for this exciting transition for your family. I cannot WAIT to see what you do with a Tudor! That mature landscaping is beautiful–and the little niches in the walls are just so cool. Congratulations!

I am so excited to see how you update your home and the awesome antiques you find! We are updating our 1970s home and it is slow going with kids. But love my home more and more as we slowly make progress. Having a yard you can send kids out to play in is magical!

I am so excited for this (and for you). My husband and I have two kids the same ages as yours and are moving to Seattle next summer, and we just realized that we can actually afford to buy a house (our first!) in a neighborhood we love with great schools, so as we look forward to beginning that adventure, it’ll be nice to see you taking it on a new house ahead of us 🙂

Congratulations to you all, Emily! That is very exciting. I’m looking forward to design ideas galore, and storage ideas because lack of closets actually will equal storage idea gold mine. I hope you get lots of sponsored things so I can follow along with what might be a good purchase for me, at this point I search sponsored blog posts as opposed to other reviews on products I’m seeking (only from bloggers who I trust to not be product shills, i.e. you) And as for the yard – AWESOME. I have four kids and no yard. It’s an issue.

I am very selfishly excited for you all! While I enjoy your work, I’ve never been able to relate to a lot of it as we love old houses and have a 1937 Georgian ourselves. So now I am over the moon to see what you do with something in the same genre as ours. Many congrats!

Congrats!! The home is lovely! We just bought our first home in Minneapolis and it is a 1919 Craftsman Bungalow. Our home has very similar pros/cons to your home (except the lovely California weather…) so I am very excited to see how you solve some of the design challenges (storage) and also looking forward to seeing a more traditional style. Best wishes moving forward!

So excited you’ll be incorporating traditional elements into your design! Love your current style, of course, but what you’re talking about seems closer to my own personal preference, so I can’t wait to see how you do it!

It’s so funny! Everybody is saying that. I’m so excited. The word that keeps coming up is ‘classic’. There will probably still be some classic midcentury in there (saarinen, Bertoiia, McCobb) but mostly i’m channeling Thomas O’brien. I love his classic american design in a modern fresh way. Only emily style 🙂

I’ve just googled Thomas O’Brien and his stuff is lovely! I’m so relieved. I usually find ‘classic’ decor on US blogs to be very dull and frumpy and overly formal – none of which sounds like you at all! But his designs are modern and lovely. I’m sure you’ll do an amazing job, even if I miss the mid-century!

Oh! Love Thomas O’Brien and Aero so much. Echoing a lot of comments here, but as a New Yorker living in a landmarked building, I always wished you lived somewhere a bit older. I totally relate to your style and love mid-century California, but it just doesn’t feel right here. I’m super pumped to see how you evolve. One thing I hate about “make over” design is that they usually start from scratch. You have great pieces now, and I can’t wait to see how you pick and choose what comes to the new place and how you translate those things for this new style.

Ha, I was scrolling the comments to see if anyone asked if you were totally abandoning MCM – it is my favorite style and it’s how I found the Brass Petal. So happy to hear you will still be incorporating its here and there! And congraaaaats on the new home!

Emily, I’m soooooo happy for you. I’m in the process of buying a house so I can relate your great news and much of what you say resonates so much with me. I, too, live in a city with a cut-throat, expensive, and scarce housing market and have to compete with cash buyers to whom I’ve crushingly lost many lovely houses. So when I found a fixer-upper and got my offer accepted. I was over the moon. I have days when I feel very negative about its short comings and how much work it needs. I wonder if I’m doing the right thing when I stare at the dark purple wall paper and purple carpet and the “faux” leaded windows draped with too short curtains AND office style blinds. But I try and remember how completely different it will look once the work is done and I get to chance to utilise everything I’ve learnt from this site about design and styling. Hopefully it will be one heck of a before and after! Congratulations!

Very exciting times, and I’m really looking forward to seeing a new direction but…..I guess this means we are never going to see what would have happened to your fire place?
I’ve been looking forward to seeing it resolved for ages!
Good luck with the renovations.

Me, too (looking forward to it being resolved). I asked our realtor if he thought it would be worth the $4k quote I got to demo and rebuild (with tile) and he said absolutely not. It’s literally the only thing in the house that i’m not proud of but wasting $4k that we won’t get on the resale and then spending all the many design/project managing hours doesn’t seem like the best idea right now. So no, its staying as is. Most people don’t even notice its shortcomings. xx

I am so excited for you!!! A family house that works for your family is a truly life changing experience. And although midcentury is my fantasy style, my reality style is more timeless traditional so i am THRILLED to see your fresh happy take on it! Oh happy day…for me…and for you too!!!

p.s. I also love that this house is not perfect in every way. Sometimes those short comings is more relatable and can make a house have the personality you’re searching for

How exciting! I love all of that lights, and that living with the ceiling and beams is stunning! I grew up in San Diego California and the indoor/outdoor living is key. I love the style of this home and am so excited to see what you do with it!

Oh my goodness!!! This is so exciting!!! I just love you and your blog, and I seriously cannot wait to see what you do with this house Emily! My husband just took a new job in a new state, so we will be house hunting soon. We JUST finished our current mid-century home, which I love soooo much. We have only been there 1.5 years, so this new move was not expected. I was just thinking that maybe I should open my mind to something that is not mid-century modern since they are hard to find. Your new adventure will be great inspiration. thank you! 😉

Congratulations! Really really great news! It was such a pleasure to witness how your house was turning into not-everyday-beauty and I can not image how it will be great to see you do it all over again, but in a different style. Can’t wait!! Thanks for sharing!

I’m so excited for you and your family! This looks like a wonderful home! I love the Nora Ephron reference – I love the way her movie sets/homes are styled. I can’t wait to see what you do with this place! I just know it’s going to be amazing!!

This is so exciting!! Can’t wait to see you transform this house. I lived in Los Feliz (a teeny tiny apartment) for a few years and, while I wasn’t fond of LA in general, I LOVED Los Feliz. I miss walking to Mexico City for their amazing margaritas. Anywho, congratulations and I’m so excited you’ll be sharing your progress! Yay.

Oh wow! What a shock to the system. Here I am slacking off reading your blog while I should be working and I get smacked with a big WE’RE MOVING announcement. What?!

But I’m right there with you, after my heart bounced back up. Your enthusiasm and optimism is contagious – and I can’t wait!!! This looks more like the style of the Spanish House makeover you did a few years back, which I absolutely love. I’m excited to see all the messes, successes, and life snapshots in this new house! (with a little heartbreak for leaving the Hills house – I mean, we haven’t even seen all the room reveals yet!) Onwards and Better Awaits!

MY GOD. This house is incredible. The doors open to the yard is perfect. I’ve considered moving to southern california just for that feature alone.

I’m so excited to see how you style the home. I love (and share) your style, but I live in a 110-year-old Edwardian home, so I’m always working to balance that style with our more classic architecture. Although your tudor will provide a more flexible backdrop than our home, I think they share similar historical weight and details — so watching what you do with this space will give me more *literal* inspiration than any of your previous work. I can’t wait! Good luck!

Congrats!! I’m super excited for you to go more traditional and classic! Also, I’d love to see some content on restoring v renovate and also I’d love to see more sustainable design that doesn’t look too crunchy!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! It’s gonna be great (not quoting anybody here as your “great” really will be GREAT). I live in a Tudor revival built in 1930, started with one bathroom, four bedrooms and teeny closets (so understand the closet issue). We wound up building a second bath by cutting into the eaves and adding a dormer. Solved the closet issue by stealing part of the bedroom next door and framing it into our walk in closet. You’re more creative than me and no doubt will come up with wonderful solutions to all your issues.
Hopefully soon you’ll share a floor plan. This is going to be a fun ride for us blog readers. All the adventure and excitement but none of the pain of dust, noise and paying $$$$.

We did the same. We bought a 1929 stone home with an English vibe — totally different from our midcentury ranch. It has a killer backyard, fireplaces, and a wonderful classic look, but smallish closets and some teeny tiny powder rooms. For the closets, we borrowed space from adjoining rooms and it turned out great. We also took out a small bedroom to have an en suite bathroom. It took some figuring out, but we did it by wall shifting. Your builder/architect/civil engineer can help you find space even when it seems impossible. Good luck! We ended up keeping a lot of our midcentury furniture — good design is good design in any setting. It actually looks kind of fresh and unexpected in a more classic/traditional space.

Congratulations!!! It is going to be mind-blowing awesome, can’t wait to follow along. The need for a yard with kids is a real thing, we recently moved and that was a bigger deal to me than pretty much anything else ?

I’m so (selfishly) excited! I have a 1932 Tudor and always come to your blog for inspiration but now I can just copy exactly what you’re doing 🙂 I really do love your makeovers, I don’t care if they are in-part sponsored either (I may just be insanely jealous), I love to see the transformation that you can do. I’m so excited for you and the good content that this will bring my eyeballs!

I can’t tell you how insanely excited I am for this chapter in your blog!! We just moved from a mid century home to a 100 yo craftsman foursquare and are facing all the same challenges (moving from trendy furniture/decor to traditional/antiques, small closets, one bathroom upstairs, systems need updating, etc.) but also love ALL the same things about our new home (amazing light, big yard, mature trees, etc.). Can’t wait to be inspired!!! And congratulations to you and your sweet little family. <3

So EXCITED! We live in a Craftsman, and I love your style. But a lot of it just doesn’t work with the style of our house. I can’t wait to see what you do with a Tudor (and steal what ideas I can from your renovation and design, obviously)!

YAAAAAS! This is just what I needed in my internet life right now. Thank you for being brave, and a little crazy. Can’t wait to see all the awesome amazing perfect things you’re going to do with this Betty.

Emily, selfishly I am SO excited to see a new direction for your design and home! My husband and I were looking at MCM houses for a year and a half, when we found an English/French estate-feeling house. We fell in love, pined/fought for it over eight months, and moved in a couple of months ago.
I am loving traditional design and how versatile it really is–I can’t wait to mix in modern pieces with antiques. I’m filling my Pinterest with tonal rooms, taffeta, burl veneer and so much more. I hope you love your transition just as much as I am! I will be cheering you on as I take on my own beast.

Congrats on the insanity!! Cause that kitchen is nuts! I Involuntarily said “woooow” when I saw the photo …. and those bathrooms. But on the other hand that neighbourhood and that backyard – with mature trees! – you can’t beat that. So, SCORE!! It’s very very charming and I am very much looking forward to all the beautifying you will do to the place. (I hope we will still get a look at the family room and the basement at the Glendale house, and the kids bath before you go. You did so much wonderful stuff there, someone will be lucky to enjoy it.)

So excited for your family! I cannot wait to see what you do with the new home, especially with a big change up in style. You always do such beautiful and creative work, and I’m sure you’ll knock it out of the park with this one too!

Beautiful, spectacular home! Wow. The doors that open to the backyard are just stunning. We live in a very similar home- a 1917 Dutch Colonia in Portland. Similar square footage, layout, and number of rooms and bathrooms. We have a 1 year old son, so sharing the one upstairs bathroom works for now. We had to renovate the entire home, down to the plumbing and electricity. I wish you a smooth process and hope you don’t run into any major issues (we have with almost every single project). But it will be worth it in the end, as Los Feliz is as awesome neighborhood (I am from OC 🙂 ).

I’m so excited .. Been religiously following your blog for the last six months or so and receive tons of info – THANK YOU, but our house is a classic 1930s cape cod – it’s adorable, full or character … and little projects and difficulties, one showerless bathroom for example, and no dishwasher .. Two little kids + no dishwasher = some kinda little hell. And, your beautiful mid-century vibe doesn’t quite work in this kind of house. So, yay! Classic! So excited for you and for me .. Ha 😉

Congrats, Emily. I read this post and nodded my head in agreement after each point. My husband and I bought a 1939 Cape Cod 2.5 years ago. My kids are teenagers, so a little difference there, but the old house quirks are the same. I renovated my kitchen, the two bathrooms, updated electrical, HVAC, and had to have structural beams replaced. Even after all of that, she isn’t perfect, but she is sturdy and loved. Looking forward to following along with your adventure.

Im excited for the new style we get to see! As much as your last house was fabulous the california mcm look is over represented in blogland/. I don’t think Im alone in feeling kinda over that look and ready for something new/old! When I saw the first photos I wondered if you were going to keep the dark wood trim and hoped you would (im by no means a wood preservationist just wanted to fall in love with a totally different style). Then I saw on another pic it appears that its actually painted brown. Waawaa!

Holy cow, we are leading parallel lives!! I have a 3 year-old, a 6 month-old, I build and design houses with my husband, we just bought a 1930’s colonial fixer-upper, and we’re planning on finishing by Christmas and selling our current home in the meantime!!! What in the world?! I can’t wait to see what you do (and maybe steal some ideas)!! Good luck!!!

I knew it! The new house looks amazing and I can’t wait to see what you do with it. I lean more toward traditional and contemporary, and not so much mid-century modern, so it is going to be fun seeing you style your new house. Now you and Jeff Lewis can be best friends because you can go to him for advice on redoing an old Tudor like he did (poor Gage didn’t want to sell that Gramercy Place house!). Will you still be keeping your studio in Eagle Rock? Long time fan, been following you since Design Star. Congrats on all your success.

I love it. I always nest where I am but I’m always up for a move if it improves my life in some way. We just bought our house and as soon as I had it filled and decorated (2 months later) I am ready to do it all again:) enjoy the process. Finding a home that makes you happy is always worth the work/stress. Can’t wait to see this one go down!

Wow- there are some amazing things in this house for you to play off of. I looooove the old sinks. And the kitchen floor is unreal!
Have SO much fun with this. Now I want to start again….(Just finished renovating ….)

Congratulations! Emily, I love you guys (gush) and I’m very happy for your family! As an aspiring designer I so appreciate your willingness to share your ups and downs and advice rather than keep all your fabulous cards close to your chest. That is what makes you a true gem and design expert! Thank you, can’t wait to see what you do next!

That yard WILL change your life! When our twins were 2-1/2 we moved from a highrise that had no parks within walking distance, to a rental house with a nothing-special back yard. That yard did not have awesome the sight lines yours does, but just being able to open a door and be in an enclosed space with grass made life with two toddlers so much better!

Beautiful new house! Though honestly I feel s little sad that one of the last ” real” feeling bloggers has moved into a home that feels so removed from 99 percent of people’s reality. It just feels less challenging and inspiring .., but it is an awesome house.

HOLY MOLY! As someone with a 1929 tudor who has been paralyzed with decorating fear (what do I do? craftsman? spanish influences? go modern!?!), I will be hanging off your every decision! Very exciting.

Love it! Can’t wait to see all you do. I love love love your current house…but with 3 kids of my own, I know how important a yard is, and it is a perfect reason to buy a new house! Congrats…and thanks for sharing it with us all!

Yay Yay Yay!!! So glad you found such a wonderful place to move to – and I can’t wait to see how you refresh it!

When you mentioned Norah Ephron, at first I was thinking Nancy Meyers – and the amazing house in the movie “It’s Complicated”. Not a Tudor, but a wonderfully sprawling and cozy Mediterranean vibe – what I dream when I dream of a house in California!

Congrats! We moved from LA to the East Coast last year and got a 102 year old house in the game. Trying to make it young and fun, and traditional and age-respectful all the the same time. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

So Emily: question: you mentioned in your post that one of the things you wanted was good light- and some houses, even if you add Windows, just don’t have good light. I am curious as to how you define that? I know good light in a house when I see it, but have a hard time visualizing what qualifies as a house with the potential for good light vs a house that no matter how many windows, will not have good light.

OMG that is big news. Congratulations!!! It is sooo beautiful! Those downstairs rooms with the doors that open to the backyard…that’s house bliss! I cannot wait to see what you do with it. I feel like you’ve been moving into a slightly different style and it will be amazing to see it in this new house.

Such great news!! I love your current house and what you’ve done to it, but seeing the potential and benefits of the new place, I have no doubts why you decided this one was “it”. The yard, and lack of stairs will feel like a magnificent luxury! Excited to follow along!!

I’m so excited for this! I’ve followed your blog for a long time and learned so much from you and your team. However, I live in a traditional home, so I couldn’t always emulate your ideas. I’m excited to see what you do with that beautiful home!

It’s gorgeous – live in it in good health : ) And also, don’t worry about “us” so much – it’s your house, do what you love to do and are amazing at. That said, so happy to be able to come along for the (your) ride.

This makes me super duper happy! I came to your blog only earlier this year after reading about you elsewhere, buying and voraciously reading your book, then watching whatever episodes of Secrets of a Stylist I could find online. I marathoned reading your blog and went back years to make sure I didn’t miss any of your home content. I love design/decor/renovation topics but your blog is rare in that you provide your opinion AND you educate people on why things work or don’t and how to go about certain projects. The fact that I get to take the journey “with” you instead of catching up after the fact will be exciting. We are first-time homeowners slowly renovating and decorating a 1903 cottage outside of NYC and so content like yours is really helpful.

Congratulations!! Welcome to the neighborhood. We are right on Russell down from the Los Feliz three theater. We don’t drive on the weekends except when we want to go the TJs in Silverlake. We walk everywhere – there are four different grocery stores we can walk to! Franklin Elementary is excellent (my colleagues have kids there as my son is just three). So many restaurants and cafes and we can hike from our house to the observatory and back. Los Feliz is a special place (you know this already!). See you around.

That’s so exciting for you and your family! We, too, left a perfect condition home to move into a bigger home in a better neighborhood that needs plenty of work. It’s hard some days, knowing what we left, but we actually have our own bedroom now so it’s all worth it!

I’m looking forward to seeing you do more with historic/traditional style. MCM is so fun, but we hope to have a historic home someday … and I selfishly want to get ideas from you 🙂 Fingers crossed that those floors can be salvaged! Also I have fallen in love with that inset medicine cabinet so I hope that gets to stay too.

This is so exciting, Emily! I know you mentioned renovating the kitchen but gahh the cabinets are so beautiful (at least what we can see)—if I didn’t cook much I’d love having a small, antique kitchen that fits the house rather than a Pinterest-perfect shiny white and chrome one. In any case, I can’t wait to see what you do.

oh my goodness, i am SO EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS! i cannot WAIT to see what you do with this house. the bones are jaw-droppingly amazing. i’m about to embark on a gut renovation of a (comparably tiny) apartment in NYC, and i’m so glad that i’ll have your design inspiration to guide me through it. congratulations!!

This is super exciting and I cannot wait to follow along with this renovation… but, selfishly, when I saw the post about this news, a small part of me was hoping the announcement would be a new TV show! 🙂

Congrats Emily! We recently moved close-bye you’re new home and it’s a fantastic place to call home. My husband and I renovate homes for a living. We are ‘flippers’ who care deeply about the quality and original design of a house. I’m a fan of yours but today I was offended by your judgement of flippers. Yes, the majority of flippers cheap out and have no design sense. But there are a handful of others who do quality work and renovate respectfully. We bring the most worn-down house on the block (what most would call a ‘tear down’) back to life with quality and period appropriate finishes. We restore the homes’ original character and save it from the plight of mansion-ization. Our home buyers are grateful for what we do….a top-to- bottom renovation which they cannot take on themselves. Please drop your judgement of flippers for people like us, who contribute to beautifying neighborhoods and who take pride in what we do!

YAY! I am so excited for you! What a cool-looking house, and I know you will make it even more beautiful. Whoever buys your old house will be really lucky. I’m totally looking forward to seeing what you do with the new spaces. And yay for a backyard for your kiddos to run around in.

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing this exciting change. I can’t wait to see you interpret a more “classic” style in a Tudor. I’m in Pittsburgh, and as soon as my current house sells, plan on buying again – and there are lots of gorgeous tudors with good bones here 🙂

I love this house! I live in a 110-year old house in Portland, OR (currently excavating basement for legal living space-YIKES). My husband and I are in love with all of the character and the good bones of this home even with the challenges of making it ours. I can’t wait to see what you do with your lovely new (old) home and your amazing style. I am sure I will be trolling your blog even more to get ideas from you! I wish I could have you decorate my whole home!!! Happy times ahead for you and your family!

Such amazing news!! Congrats!!! I can’t wait to see what you do with it. That backyard is seriously a dream. I connect with you so much on the outdoor space must- I live in SF now but grew up in a rural area (Lake Arrowhead) so I really miss outdoor space and being amongst nature- hell I’d even take a tiny deck at this point. And similar to you, our hill to get to the nearest park is about a 70 degree incline (woof). I also adore you even more for your comment on public schooling because I feel the same way

Congratulations! I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll do. I’m so glad you guys now have a yard and don’t have to schlep up and down all those steps. I hope your version of traditional will continue to be a little quirky and a little granny–that’s what I like best about your style.

What a beautiful house! I’m still in shock that it’s 2200 SF and only ONE bathroom… Maybe you can add another?

I grew up with parents who did the same thing you are doing. They bought houses that were too much work for the average person, fixed them up, and then moved a couple years later. I think I lived in 12 houses birth through college. The only difference is that my dad did all the work himself because it was his ‘hobby’ and we lived through all the construction. My sister and I spent our childhood in lumber yards and half-finished houses. To this day, the smell of sawdust still reminds me of being a kid 🙂

I had a similar experience with my parents. Not exacly the same, but my dad did a lot of work himself (after work or too time off) on all 3 houses we had. Once he finished them there were a few years in between living in it and buying a new one. Now we’re taking the journey to renovate and I’m starting to realize that it will take us about three years to make everything nice inside and ouside the house. But I love it. Even if I bought a renovated house I’d find something to change, paint, etc.

I am so excited to see what you do with this house! I can’t wait to see your style evolve. I just moved into a 100-year-old house and made many of the same concessions to be walkable to downtown and give my son and dog a yard. Also, I already love your openness and heart, but hearing you talk about public schools and trying to be part of the change sealed the deal. Appreciate your honesty too about having to do what’s best for your family.

Longtime lurker, but I have to say I just bought my second home too and am transitioning from ultra-modern to traditional as well! Crazy! Can’t wait to see what you have in store and hoping I can pick up some ideas too.

I saw that first picture on first and I immediately thought, “That’s it!, That’s the house structure that I’ve been imagining but couldn’t explain!” Tudors aren’t even my favorite it’s the cozy inside that I love. It’s that inside that I want if I ever move to cali.

Congratulations! This is a beautiful house! It looks great, and the backyard seems perfect. I’d love a house like that too. The size seems perfect too. I hope to see you decorate slightly differently than before, at the same time I hope it will be elegant and classic but on a more modern side than the traditional side. That’s what I’d love, but you need to make your home yours. I’ll be curious to follow the renovations. Best wishes!

I absolutely loved watching you remodel your current home and cannot wait to see what you do in this one. I can’t get over those window! So gorgeous! The home is already beautiful, it’ll just be so stunning when you’re done. Congrats!!! And ps, having a backyard for the kids to play in safely is such a gift. I don’t know how we (or our kids) would survive without ours!

1. LOVED your political post (I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve been reading since Brass Petal days). Empathy empathy empathy. I was also impressed by all the smart, informed comments. You have a great tribe!

2. CONGRATS on house. I have a very similar story on how we got our 1928 house in Hancock Park when we thought we’d be priced out etc. 4 years ago. We fixed up – did new kitchen, master bath, other tweaks. And yes a yard w/ 2 kids is supreme (hopefully you can sneak a pool back there = game changer). Can’t wait to see what you do.

I’m a bit torn. I think it’s awesome you’ve found a new home that you love and that it’s a new chapter for you and your family. That part is really exciting and congratulations! I am excited to see some new renovation blogs for the new house but since I loved MCM before it became a trend and I still love it/will continue to love it (therefore it’s not a trend to me) I will be a bit sad to see that aspect go from your blog. It’ll at least be interesting to see how you blend your previous esthetic with something more traditional. I have a hard time picturing traditional/antiques as anything but a bit stuffy. I’ll look forward to seeing what happens!

We have just embarked on a very similar (crazy!) adventure! I’m excited to follow along as you update and hopefully get some inspiration for our own new (to us, it was built in the ’20s) home, we’re moving to a colonial and have been living in a craftsman bungalow (for 3.5 years…), so I’m going a little more traditional this time around too!

Oh man, so many crazy corners!! But so much awesome possibility. I love your style and can’t wait to see what you do with it! I’m a designer as well, but focus on contract office furniture and we are a Knoll dealer, so classic, mid-century modern is a totally favorite of mine. Good luck!!!

Oh I LOVE it! And I love your reasons for moving – a yard being among them. And light. Such lovely priorities over closet space or enough bathrooms. That is so refreshing. Because it’s clear you can design the s–t out of anything with good bones. Can’t wait to see the projects that come out of this one.

Congratulations!!! It looks like a beautiful house and soon you’ll make it a home.

I have to say, I have always liked you but since you did Sylvia’s makeover you showed another side of you (along with Target) so human, honest and giving. I sent my father the video so he could see it, I normally don’t share with him blog things but I couldn’t resist it. You did a great job and they seemed like really nice deserving people.
I wish you and your family the best on this new home.

Emily,
Long time reader, first time commenter. I am so excited for you! I have always loved your style but it doesn’t work for me since I live in a very traditional 1930s tudor home. So I am so excited to see what you do with your new place!

This is of course awesome news, yay new content! Selfishly I am sad it will be more traditional though. Of course I will keep reading but I prefer a more modern look. I want to convince you the space can handle it but you are the expert! haha

What an amazing find! I think you are going to have so much fun branching out and trying a whole new different style and personally, I’m excited to watch.

I will tell you from experience that moving into that home with a yard and getting that “family” feel is worth every penny and gray hair. There is nothing better than telling your toddler, go outside and play. Watching that independence grow is amazing and having the true family home is priceless! Congrats!!!!!

Beautiful house! Can’t wait to see the changes. Just curious – what causes a house to have “good natural light”? Is it the ceiling height? The number and size of windows? The direction the windows are facing? I’m designing a house and want to make sure there is decent light. Thanks!

It’s gorgeous and it has “home” written all over for it. Girl, you wanna go English in there? I have one name for you “William Morris”. You also need silver – I’m a half-Brit and spent the first 18 years of my life not knowing it wasn’t normal to use silver goblets at dinner. Other secrets of the British – you need 25 different sets of china and it better be Royal Doulton or you bloody well don’t know what you’re doing. Something needs to look like a library and for that you need a Toby mug or two. English pub chairs, chintz, curtains at the doors and a splash of tartan and you’re good. Wellies at the door might not be the thing in SoCal.

Holy cannoli I’m excited! The windows and fireplace in the living room are reason enough to buy this house. Who needs bathrooms when you have that fireplace?! 🙂 I really really love your current house too, so thanks for sharing that journey with us. I’m sure this one will be just as fun/inspiring. Congratulations!

This is super duper exciting! Congrats on the new home. Yes, a yard is just essential with little guys. Scrolling through the pictures I kept wondering: “what will Emily do with that?!” That angle in the kitchen is totally bizarre! It’s going to be exciting to see how you solve all you get to tackle. Good luck!

Congratulations! It is SO NICE to have a yard that your kids can let themselves out into. My two year old can let himself AND our DOG in and out to our fenced-in yard and I take that luxury for granted.

So excited for the new house and direction. Mid Century Modern has always been kind of meh for me. Sometimes I love it but sometimes it just seems so prevalent. Like everywhere you look it’s all you see.

Funny how styles change. I think it’s related to getting older, which in itself is such a cliche, but the trendy person I was in my 20s has given way to more classic styles in my 30s, both in my home and my dress. It will be quite fun to see how this shows up in your new place. Congrats!

Emily,
Very exciting news for you and your family!!! I’m also in love with older homes, as there is no substitute for the character and charm they hold. I really identify with your current style, so I’m Intrigued to see how you transition to a more classic look! Love it, enjoy every minute!

We bought a 1928 Tudor one year ago for all the same reasons…and it has many of the same drawbacks (1 main bathroom, terrible renovations from the 80s, few outlets, etc). But I love it’s character and am trying to mix my mid century modern style with traditional pieces. It’s hard because I lean so far toward mid century that I don’t know how to say yes to traditional. I am SO excited to see and be inspired/educated by your renovation and styling. Have fun!

Haha, oh my goodness! Y’all have such inspiring vigor and energy, Emily! It seems like you are not only going to give your kids a wonderful home and backyard, you’re also giving them so much courage and love for adventure and zestfulness! I do feel a little sad you are leaving your current house (it is SO BEAUTIFUL!), but I know you are going to work magic on the new house. Looking forward to following your journey virtually 🙂

The new house looks so lovely & I’m so happy for you – those trees are amazing!

Growing up in Germany and the UK I will however never understand the need in the US for more than 1.5 bathrooms for a family, or the idea of needing a playroom and a family room in addition to a living rooms as well as built-in closets and lots and lots of closet space.

I know why people in the US think they need those things and how they think it makes your life and especially life with kids easier, but it just doesn’t make any sense to me and I don’t think it ever will.

@EMMA I grew up in the US, but I am in the same boat. I don’t understand the “more is more” as far as space. I believe living in a smaller (but not too small!) home is better for kids growing up. We are in a 2-bedroom 1-bathroom house with 2 kids, and honestly, it’s eactly what we need for now, and probably even the next decade. Yes, we have tiny closets, but we really don’t need as much stuff as we are marketed to believe that we do. I also always try to keep in mind that the store is for storing things 😉

Congrats! Please preserve all the great character including the windows. Even the little things that don’t seem modern. They are timeless.Don’t get rid of the dining room. Leave the original floor plan. Looking forward to seeing it.

Congrats! I’m so happy for your family! It looks like a wonderful place to have some great family memories. The Tudor house is so, so, so gorgeous (that light! that yard!) and I can’t wait to see how you redesign it to fit your family and evolving style. You’re definitely an inspiration to me 🙂

Just wondering, as part of this update are you going to add central AC? Or was it already in the house? With bedrooms on the true 2nd floor it will be very appreciated. With global warming even those of us that live near the beach in SoCal are adding it because some of July and August are becoming miserable…

Just wondering.

Could not be more excited to see how this all comes together for you guys!!!!! Many congratulations!!

Congratulations, Emily! I am so thrilled for you. It will be fun to watch you move into a more “traditional” style, as you say. I hope you will be able to salvage as much of that bathroom tile (and that pedestal sink!) as you can. I hate stuff going to land fill if it’s something someone else would love.

SOOO excited for you and so excited for all of us to get to see all the things you’re going to do to this place. And coming from someone who has lived in 7 different houses and not stayed in one more than 3 1/2 years, I don’t think you’re crazy at all. It was time. 🙂

Wow, Emily! What a BEAUTIFUL house! Congratulations, it really is amazing, those windows, the lights, the yard. Wish you all the happiness in your new home! And oh my, how insanely lucky we are :)))) thank you for bringing us to this crazy exciting new adventure! Thank you!

You are awesome! This house will be AMAZING! I cant wait to follow the journey! Obsessed with your current/old house, but excited that this will give me, the reader, more, more, more remodel/design content! Lucky you and luck readers!!! Congrats to you and your family!!! Can wait to see!!!

one thing i loved about your (dearly missed) show is how you translated styles and inspiration for each client. I am so excited to see how you will decorate this much more classic and almost euro house with your eye and taste! Yay!

Don’t worry too much about the local schools — I work at the high school in Los Feliz, and I think it is great. I’ll be sending my own kids there in about seven years. And there are a few wonderful elementary schools around as well. What a lovely lovely home.

Happy you guys are happy, but so bummed you are leaving the current house… it’s how I found you, why I followed your blog and what made me buy your book. Speaking purely selfishly, my heart sank as soon as I saw this post (and the style of the new house). Seriously gonna miss your house and sorry to lose your take on mid-century style.

Oh Emily, this is just so awesome for you and your family…I LOVE tudor homes and cannot wait to follow along as you renovate. That family room and THAT FIREPLACE?????????? I’d never leave…
Congrats and let the fun begin!
Best of luck!
Leah: )

I just got more excited about your new house than my own, which we moved into only three months ago. Also, more excited than I am about upcoming vacations and my new books that arrived today. That means a lot. I can’t wait to see all of this with your blog! Thank you so much for allowing us to be house voyeurs.

Weeee I am so exited for this and so happy for y’all!! But yes I do agree, it is crazy that you have to leave your beautiful home with so much effort put into the design. Regardless, this next house will be beautiful, I know it! Can’t wait

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! This is going to be SO FUN! I’m pretty excited for the change up too! Do not get me wrong I love a good mid-century modern but as I live in Richmond Virginia, there isn’t too much of that around. I’m excited to see how you meld this modern classic style you have and learn how to infuse that in my own home! I think this is going to be the best thing yet! Congrats!

I am so excited for you and your family in this next chapter of your lives. Of course I am excited for me too, as now I get more seriously awesome home renovation posts, photos and I get to live vicariously through a project that gets done in a resonable time frame and with killer results.

Hi Emily!
I’m very happy for you and your family! I’m also excited because your moving into a home and style that is more like mine! I ALWAYS enjoy your blog/work but sometimes it’s too modern for me (sorry!) but beautiful for sure. I’m certain your blog will now be my fav and numero uno!
Can’t wait to see this happen!
Excited for your next amazing journey!
-Emily

Of course we’re all so happy for you & the new chapter of your life. I’m worried you’re going to be leaving behind the “let’s get weird” philosophy with this new chapter however. Please prove me wrong, Miss Emily!

Congratulations! I read your post last night about big news and I thought you might be pregnant again. But I have two young children two years apart and they work as natural birth control (as yours must too) so that was out. This is a beautiful house even before the Youxi988 stamp. I used to live in that neighborhood. I did not realize that the schools are now good. When I was there, they were not yet great. Helicopters flew over constantly looking for possible thugs. It’s a very different landscape now. How nice for you to already have a great community there. I look forward to seeing you do a more “classic” style. I hope it’s still eclectic. 🙂

Location location location! I’ve lived in Los Feliz for the last 3 years and love it! Griffith park, figaro bistro, amazing architecture, JENIS ICE CREAM…need I say more? it’s the best neighborhood in LA! Hope to see you around. 🙂

This is the best news!! When my family moved from CA (boo) to New Jersey this past year, we bought a 1932 craftsman/tudor because it was the only house that seemed unique in a sea of colonials. Also, it reminded us of home! I so can’t wait to see what you do – I’ve been so afraid to make any major changes because of the age of the house and all the character it has!

I am very excited and happy for you guys. Although I love your current home I can’t wait to see you put your touches in to this charming home. Loads of character, completely different style, big ole yard, woo hoo, I’m celebrating with you!

And your family, and your team, and all the new content coming my way!

I am definitely a traditionalist at heart, and although you have been crushing hard on mid-century for the last few years, I flash back to your early traditionalism (that blue sofa, the chesterfield, your Brass Petal posts) and I think you are too.

My visit’s have declined over the last year, but this will have me tuning back in on the reg.

Another reader in the older-homeowning category! We live in a 1920s bungalow in Denver, so dissimilar style-wise, but I imagine you’ll run into some of the same obstacles along the way, especially the kid-related ones and the fix-or-replace ones.

I’m curious about the connotations of “flipping.” Is that code for updating with cheapo materials to make a quick buck? I never thought that much about the term, but I guess that would be something one might feel defensive about!

hi emily. this is great news. you have an adventure ahead and i can relate. the lot-wide dumpster just rolled away from our house but the porta potty is still in the driveway and the landscapers arrive next week. after 6 months, our 1970s house near the beach is finished (for now). if i dare give advice: spend the most $$ on the guts of the house. we upgraded all the plumbing and electrical. every room now accommodates modern technology. we redid all lighting and outlets and (the plumber) jackhammered 18″ into the slab for better bathroom drainage. all very unphotogenic stuff but so worth it. all the updating can be done while preserving the surface charm of the period. old houses are gracious and welcoming but not built to carry the load of modern life. again…so happy for you. can’t wait to read and see your adventure.

This house is AWESOME. I totally love your idea about doing a large eat-in kitchen instead of having a dining room. Dining rooms are good in theory, but in practice they become catch-alls for crap and they never get used for their intended purpose. I know for myself and all my friends, when we have people over, they tend to gravitate toward the kitchen even with the dining room right there. So why not have a great kitchen where people can hang out?

I am curious as to where in Glendale your house was, but I won’t ask! I only wonder because I just recently started working in Glendale, in a more industrial/railroad-y area, and when I drive around, I think, “Where do families live?” But all I’ve really seen is the area around my office, and the area around the Americana. I used to work in Pasadena, and I could totally see myself living there/South Pasadena. But I just can’t seem to get a vibe from Glendale.

I am such a dork to be posting twice but I just saw the video of the house and listening to you describe your plans for the kitchen has me drooling. Also super excited to watch you make that huge space comfy. I have a similar scale issue in our family room.

I feel so happy for you guys scoring this house. Its so lovely. Since it’s a Tudor it’s sort of fairytale ish. It would be so cool to see it decorated with some whimsical fanciful elements. Like those quirky murals from anthropology or have a random piece of furniture be upside down or something. Not over the top, but ya know with subtle hints of “magical fantasy”. Also how about lots of climbing vines outside to add to the enchantment? Don’t you just love climbing vines on Tudors? (Heart eyes)

I just watched the Facebook presentation with you and Orlando. I agree with him totally about pushing out the back wall to give you more interior space for a real dining room ~a Tudor should have one ~ Charlie’s bedroom, another bath, more closet space (for your 25 handbags!). NOW is the time to do it and it will add a lot of value to the house for either resale OR if you decide that it will be, after all, your “forever” house. Whatever you do, can’t wait to follow along.

This is SO exciting! Secretly, I’ve been pretty bored with MCM for a while now. Please don’t hit me. I AM interested in seeing how you mix your MCM pieces with this home’s style, the contrast will be awesome!!! Congrats!

So excited for you! Old closets are a bitch! We live in a 1947 adobe home and only lucked out because they wouldn’t sign off on the master bedroom structurally, so we were able to use the old bathroom as a closet and then add on the new master bath. Cant wait to see all the new projects!

“I honestly don’t know how any of you accomplish any home projects. It’s so hard to pull together a house and took me 2 1/2 years with our last one and i’m a designer!!!”

You have no idea how glad I was to see those sentences! I always feel like a complete failure that we have not done more improvements on our house in the 2 years we have lived there. With both my husband and I working full time, having a 2 year old, in doesn’t give us much spare time (or spare dollars) to spend doing the updates we dream about. So this makes me feel better!

Your new house is gorgeous! I’m so jealous. I can’t wait to see where you go with it, and see your style evolve. Definitely a good idea to get it done before moving in!

Emily, I am so incredibly excited for this new adventure of yours! We’ve spent the past year gutting and renovating an abandoned 1930 Craftsman Bungalow, so I can definitely relate to the roller coaster of emotions that you must be feeling right about now! We too had the very similar issues to deal with – no storage space, only one bathroom, the charming vs. hideous dilemma, etc. – but if we made it work, I have no doubt that you will too – I just hope I don’t have too much regret after I see your amazing solutions to these problems, ha!

I’ve renovated 3 houses that I thought were my long term homes in 6 years. With each one, I got better. We are finally living in the the third one, which was almost a full gut with tons of structural stuff, etc… It is 110 year old Victorian and I love it. You aren’t crazy. Don’t get rid of all of your mid-century. I love the mix of old, new and in between in our house. And sometimes antiques just make my house feel OLD. Have fun!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! The house is absolutely beautiful! And I know you’re going to make it over-the-top perfect! Looking forward to seeing every detail and how your style will evolve in the process. Can’t wait! Best of luck. Have fun. And more importantly, I hope your family is insanely happy there.

Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing all your thoughts on this new baby. I loved your details on your “must-haves”. We’re casually looking for a new home too. I always said “oh kids don’t need a big yard, we just need a park nearby”, but now that we have two littles, I’m having other thoughts!

I’ve never left a comment for you, but I’m SO EXCITED. We just bought our dream house up in Oakland three months ago (which seems very similar, other than just being a regular 40s house, not a tudor), but DAMN if this isn’t my other dream house.

I mean. There isn’t such a thing as one house soulmate, right?

PLUS, the best part is I don’t have to pay and do the work on this one. I can just watch you make it beautiful and take notes. Give us some not go broke tips, eh? And I’ll buy the string art.

I’m so excited for you guys! It’s gonna be do much fun and I cant wait to see what’s comming. The house looks stunning, and very different from what you have now, definetly more refined and classic. I’m so curious to see how it turns out. Also, I am happy for YOU personally, I almost feel a little proud – Which is funny, cause I don’t even know you. 🙂

I’m so excited for you! I just bought a 123 years old Victorian home with an intense list of to dos… But I really wanted a different type of house (have always lived in mid century homes…) We are 1 month through remodel and hopefully will move in the next month! Good Luck!

Congratulations. The house is awesome and you seem so excited to make it a home. Not totally insane! We renovated 3 houses in 4 years and had 3 kids in the same time! It wan crazy but fun and we’re now done and loving our forever home. Can’t wait to follow the renovations and designs.

This is my life In A nut shell right now! We took on a 1900 farmhouse renovation in April (complete gut job) and fingers crossed to be in by Christmas to host it all! A girl after my own heart, em 😉 ha! I talk to you like we are besties… No we have never met but I do enjoy following, especially now since we are living the same legacy.

I know that house well! You’re so lucky to have gotten it! It’s so incredibly charming and I look forward to seeing your updates. Congrats!! We have a tiny patio because the beach is our backyard but your new one is better than any park ? AMAZING for your lil ones!

It’s stunning and will be drop dead gorgeous with your touch. My two cents– KEEP THE ORIGINAL SINKS!!! I’m a sucker for original, I’d hate to see those pulled out. Anyway, congratulations and all the best in your new home!!!

Congratulations! As you share your progress on making this house your new home, please consider addressing how you care for the materials that you are incorporating. As a busy mom, many of my choices are directed by how the materials will look 6 weeks-2 years after they have been in my home. Anything that easily shows dust, crumbs, dirt, even dried toothpaste (I’m being brutally honest here) or needs extra care (sealed regularly, special cleaner, etc) has to be carefully considered. If it takes extra time and work for something to look good, then it doesn’t work for my family. I would love to get your insight into how these factors are considered when you make your decisions. as- Painting your cabinets? -What about drips and spots? What color and paint type will work to not immediately and easily show all marks?

Congratulations! As you share your progress on making this house your new home, please consider addressing how you care for the materials that you are incorporating. As a busy mom, many of my choices are directed by how the materials will look 6 weeks-2 years after they have been in my home. Anything that easily shows dust, crumbs, dirt, even dried toothpaste (I’m being brutally honest here) or needs extra care (sealed regularly, special cleaner, etc) has to be carefully considered. If it takes extra time and work for something to look good, then it doesn’t work for my family. I would love to get your insight into how these factors are considered when you make your decisions. Just as a quick example- Painting your cabinets? -What about drips and spots? What color and paint type will work to not immediately and easily show all marks?

Congratulations! What an amazing space and I can’t wait to see how you bring your style into it. Also, as an owner of a 1920s bungalow, I love that you will be working with an older house and hopefully sharing how you deal with an older house’s storage and other challenges. So excited for you and your family. 🙂

Yeahhhh!! Looking forward to seeing how you transform this new house! I will miss the old one though. But I’m more of a classic girl myself so I can hardly wait to see your classic touch. All the best!

I couldn’t be more excited for this! I’m such a traditionalist at heart, and I love knowing that classics are coming back. I mean, you were one of the first to gush about brass on HGTV and look where that has come…I’ve been seeing a trend towards traditionalism for a while now and I know that this home will only encourage it to grow. Congrats, it’s so special already and I can’t wait to see it shine when you’re done!

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What about a show, similar to Genevieve’s Renovation, about your new house improvements/remodel!?!?! Oh please! Can’t wait to see where you take this place. I know there will be many surprises! Interested to hear why you wanted to do something outside of MCM? Have you been doing that too long, want a new style challenge, not kid friendly? I’m curious. 😉

Congratulations! Your new house is gorgeous! Can’t wait to see how you add your own style to it. We bought a tudor house (we affectionately refer to it as “the castle”) and have spent the last two years fixing it up. It’s always interesting trying to strike a balance between the amazing architecture of the house and our personal style. I’m so excited to follow along on your journey!

Wow. I’m so excited. For you – because it looks lovely and I know what you mean about kids and yards and good schools – but mostly for me because I live in a tudor in Eagle Rock and now I can learn your awesome tricks and get ideas for a house that actually looks like my house!

Hello!

Emily is a stylist, author and T.V. host with a strong commitment to vintage inspired approachable home style for every single person. Perfection is boring; Let’s get weird. learn more

Interior Design Blog by Youxi988

I started this interior design blog in 2010 as a journal of my style and home projects with the belief that design should be approachable, informational and accessible no matter what budget.

As a home style expert who has a strong commitment to peeling back the intimidating layers of the world of home decor, and showing how every person can have a beautiful home that represents their personality, no matter what the budget.

After styling for magazines and catalogues for years, I started my own interior design blog, won HGTV Design Star, and have gone on to host my own hit TV show Secrets from a Stylist, Author the book STYLED, and create the design firm Youxi988 Design.

My motto has always been to write and publish on my blog what I personally want to read about.